


Ignomious Attachments

by Mockingbirdsong



Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DC Extended Universe, Justice League (2017)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:14:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24321874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mockingbirdsong/pseuds/Mockingbirdsong
Summary: Bruce is not happy when he realizes he has been chemically bonded in servitude to Clark. Clark is even less amused by the situation.Sorry for the long delay but this fic is now new and improved thanks toInternerdionalityfor the beta.
Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 97
Kudos: 628





	1. Chapter 1

Clark squirmed uncomfortably as Diana fixed him with a disbelieving stare.

“Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me like you are saying that Batman is now your personal slave?”

“No, that’s not exactly what happened.” Clark said defensively.

“He is obligated to listen to any commands that you give him and he has suddenly become unduly concerned with your physical and mental wellbeing,” Diana clarified.

“Well yes, but… Okay, fine, he seems to be acting like my… well, that. But I assure you, this isn’t my fault. He was the one who touched the strange technology.”

“I did not say it was your fault. But it does seem that we have a problem. I can’t imagine Bruce is especially happy about the situation.”

“No, he went to the Batcave and told me to stay as far away from him as possible. He may have suggested the moon as a possible option.”

“I see.”

Clark winced as she continued to stare at him, no small amount of judgement showing on her face.

He was grateful when his cell phone rang. ‘Wayne Manor’ flashed across the screen.

“Hello?” he asked, trying not to panic. Bruce usually called from his cell phone, so it was probably Alfred. He had only received one other call from the Manor’s land line in the last three years of the League working together, and that occasion had been a last-resort call after Bruce had been kidnapped for three days. The gentle butler had barely been holding it together that time.

“Mr. Kent, I am terribly sorry to bother you, but I believe you need to come here quickly.”

Clark hesitated, “Alfred, Bruce was very clear about not wanting me anywhere near him till the situation has been resolved.”

“Yes, well. I would appreciate it if you could come by regardless. ”

“Is he alright?”

“I don’t believe so. As I suggested, it would be best if you came to the manor as soon as possible.”

Diana looked at Clark pityingly, clearly having heard the entire conversation. “Would you like me to come with you for moral support?”

Clark nodded gratefully, “Yes, please; I think he might try killing me as a first resort to break the connection.”

“Clark, you are mostly indestructible. Not to mention he is physically incapable of harming you at the moment.”

“Oh, don’t give me that. He’ll find a way.”

_______________________________________________________________

When Clark and Diana arrived at the Batcave, Bruce appeared to be doing fine, at first glance. He was sitting in front of the monitors, information passing by so quickly Clark had to wonder how Bruce was keeping up with it.

Then again, he did seem a little stiffer than normal. And now that Clark was looking for it, he could see that the man’s lips were pinched tight, probably in some type of pain. His hands were shaking minutely, barely noticeable but a big flashing sign that something was wrong with Bruce. The bracelet-like device that had attached itself to him during their unfortunate encounter was still there, glimmering slightly in the low light.

Alfred was standing to next to Bruce, looking exasperated.

Bruce glanced up at Clark and Diana, face twisting into a frown. Clark suppressed the need to reiterate that none of this had been his fault. Bruce had specifically called him in—probably as a courtesy, since the lab he’d needed to investigate was in Metropolis, and everything in Metropolis seemed to lead back to Lex these days. Still, it had been the Dark Knight’s decision. Clark wanted to point out that under different slightly circumstances, Bruce might very well have ended up bonded to Barry. Surely, Clark was a better option than that.

He forged ahead anyway. “Hey, Bruce. How you are doing?”

He fully expected to hear a grunted “fine,” so he was surprised when what actually came out of Bruce’s mouth was, “My resting heartbeat is about 40 beats more than usual, I am experiencing tremors, and I am feeling acute anxiety. I also have a splitting headache. And my ribs still hurt from being injured on patrol last week.” Bruce stopped suddenly, looking comically surprised at his own answer. He glared at Clark, lips firmly pressed together.

“You know what, sorry I asked. You could just tell me to mind my own business. There’s no need to be snippy.” Clark raised his hands defensively.

“Clark, I believe he is experiencing a compulsion to tell you the truth. You may need to release him from the command.” Diana noted, watching Bruce closely. “I have seen similar responses to the lasso. Bruce, you need to stop fighting so much; you will hurt yourself.”

“Oh, right, sorry. Bruce, obviously you don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Clark felt terrible when he saw just how visibly Bruce relaxed at the statement. He made a mental note to avoid any direct questions in the future. In fact, he was just going to not speak a word till this whole thing was sorted out. It was the best idea he had—for now anyway.

“Are you feeling any compulsion to obey anyone other than Clark?” Diana asked carefully.

“Not at the moment, no,” Bruce answered.

“Did you discover anything about the device you touched? How it operates?”

“Not exactly, although it does seem to emitting a high frequency signal, which I think is designed to interfere with my brain waves.”

Alfred coughed pointedly and glared at Bruce.

“It may also be periodically injecting me with an as-yet-unidentified substance.” Bruce concluded, a bit sheepishly.

“Bruce!” That was news to Clark. It hadn’t done anything other than latch itself to Bruce and act like a particularly tacky piece of jewellery when he had been around. “What do you think…you know what, never mind,” he broke off quickly. “Sorry, let me rephrase, ummm. It sure would be nice to hear any further information that you feel like sharing with us on the matter?” This was getting ridiculous.

Alfred was the one who answered. “I believe what Master Wayne is tiptoeing around is the fact that the device does not seem to appreciate your being far away. He has been in increasing discomfort since you left earlier. The device has been injecting him at increasing frequency since then.”

“Thanks for that, Alfred. I am guessing you called him here, after I specifically asked you not to?” Bruce did not look impressed.

“It needed to be done, Master Wayne.” Alfred didn’t look the least bit affected by Bruce’s murderous look. Clark made a mental to ask him how he had mastered that particular skill.

And now Bruce was back to glaring at Clark. “Thank you for coming, but like I said, I will handle it. If you could just stay away for a few days, I will sort it out.”

Diana sighed. “Bruce, you just said that you have a headache and several other severe symptoms. Do you think it is more or less likely that you will find a solution faster if you don’t have to deal with that as you are working? Clark could stay here for a few days, help you identify the solution.”

“Yeah, sure. Not like I have a job or a superhero identity to worry about.” Clark groused, feeling a bit put off at the presumption that he had no life to speak of. Especially since it was mostly true at the moment.

Unfortunately, Bruce seemed to latch on to that. “Yes, exactly. He’s busy.”

“Wait, no. Of course I can stay for a while. It makes sense, Bruce. That way you can figure it out faster. Ahem, if you want to… I don’t mean to order you to do it in a timeframe or anything.”

Bruce took pity on him. “Unless you give me a direct command or ask a specific question, you’re fine, Clark.”

“Right, of course.”

“Anything I can do to help, Bruce?” Diana pursed her lips as if trying to avoid a smile.

Bruce started to shake his head but stopped immediately, watching Diana like a hawk for a few seconds. Then he nodded, as if he had made a decision. “Actually, yes. I need you to hold onto my store of Kryptonite for the time being.”

Clark tried not to feel too annoyed. It was one thing to know intellectually that his teammate probably had the largest amount of Kryptonite in the world, another to hear to it spoken about in such a matter-of-fact manner.

“I see.”

“I am feeling a strong urge to destroy the samples. Or failing that, to drop it in the middle of an active volcano,” Bruce admitted, voice dropping into a low growl.

“Yeah, sounds terrible. You might actually end up having to trust me for once.” Clark muttered.

Diana spoke up before Bruce could. “Certainly; although, since this is clearly a sensitive topic, might I suggest the two of you have a discussion about it after this more urgent matter is resolved?”

“I will expect the entire shipment back. I have extensive records of exactly how much exists and in what form,” Bruce said, pointedly ignoring the suggestion. “And keep it somewhere I won’t be able to access it for now.”

“Wait.” Clark interrupted, feeling a little outraged. “Shipment? Are you mass producing the stuff now? Exactly how much do you need?”

“It is safer with me than lying around the globe, for every supervillain who’s feeling a little extra motivation.” Bruce sounded a little defensive to Clark, his vocal tone rising a bit.

“Of course, you have my word.” Diana interrupted firmly before the next argument from Clark. “Does this mean the device is making you want to do things?” she asked doubtfully. “Controlling your actions?”

Bruce shook his head. “Not exactly. I am just extremely aware it’s a threat to Clark, and I am feeling a need to…protect him from the potential harm. I may not be able to control that urge later. It’s safer with you for now.”

“That almost sounds sweet, Bruce.” Clark couldn’t resist the small quip. Bruce ignored him and didn’t waste time in leading Diana away, presumably to his well-guarded stock of Kryptonite.

“I do hope you will not take offense at Master Bruce’s…. preparedness for the worst-case scenario.” Alfred remarked.

“What? Of course not. I made my peace with that a long time ago. He’s right that it is safer with him than lying around. I was just messing with him a little. At least I know he won’t use it without good reason. Unlike some people I could think of,” Clark admitted sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”

“I see… that’s very generous of you. Given his past actions, I would be more… concerned. ” Alfred was watching him speculatively. Clark had the distinct feeling he was being tested, although he couldn’t make out for what exactly.

“Yes, well. But then he believed me and saved my mother,” Clark said. He didn’t even have to lie. He had already considered this when Bruce had saved his mother’s life. Bringing him back to life had just been icing on the cake.

“Indeed. I am glad to hear that.” Alfred nodded and graced Clark with a slight, satisfied smile. “I doubt Master Wayne will tell you this himself, or even admit to it, but the device seems to be causing no insignificant amount of pain when he is away from you. My estimate based on his reaction seems be a distance of maybe fifty feet before it starts to kick in.”

“He just left the room,” Clark pointed out. “I am pretty sure his stash of Kryptonite is further than fifty feet away.”

“Yes, well. Master Wayne isn’t well known for doing things that make life easier for himself.”

“Oh, boy. I was pretty far away before you called me back.”

“I was aware.”

“So I need to stick around here… within fifty feet of Bruce, when he really doesn’t want to see me around.”

“Yes, you do seem to be in a distinctly tight spot.”

“I don’t suppose Bruce has an invisibility cloak lying around here somewhere that I could use?”

Alfred shook his head and started to leave. “I will set up a guest room next to the master bedroom. I can arrange for your things to be brought over by a valet, if you wish. Although, of course, I will provide all necessary amenities here.”

“No, that’s fine. I am sure it will be fine here… great actually.” Clark answered quickly.

Alfred nodded and left him alone. Clark briefly considered going after Bruce, then decided against it for now. He would come back when it got too bad, hopefully. Although Clark had a feeling he would be the one losing this battle of wills eventually.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long delay but I promise this fic was not abandoned! In fact thanks to [Internerdionality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Internerdionality/pseuds/Internerdionality), it’s looking a lot better! Highly recommend you reread the first chapter as it has been edited. Any remaining mistakes are mine. The fic is fully written now and updates would be regular from now :)

Clark had always had the impression that the infamous Batman’s life would be pretty much constant excitement. If not that, that at least Bruce Wayne’s life must be. He still recalled the first time he saw Bruce stepping out of the car at Lex’s party, the center of attention in every room. Somehow, he had always imagined Bruce as living the high life, surrounded by beautiful women and fast cars. But he had already been here for a night and the better part of the following day, and it was mostly just watching Bruce staring at a multitude of computers and ignoring Clark pointedly. At least Alfred had come through with Clark’s laptop, so he wasn’t just twiddling his thumbs. He had finished up an article he was working on and had moved on to playing Minecraft within an hour. Even Alfred wasn’t very good for extended conversations, although he was excellent at producing a variety of snacks on an hourly basis. Clark would miss the white truffle popcorn when he left this place.

Clark was trying to perfect the art of hanging around Bruce while somehow not looking like he was. Alfred had, true to his word, put Clark up in the room next to Bruce’s so Clark hadn’t been too worried that he would somehow cross the fifty-foot radius at night. But during the day, with Bruce conscious, Clark was distinctly starting to feel like a stalker. Alfred had sent him a discrete message with Bruce’s schedule for the day, starting with breakfast at 7:00.

The meal had not been a particularly comfortable affair, although Bruce did seem considerably less cranky than the previous night. Clark had noticed that his wrist seemed to be rubbed raw around the bracelet, suggesting that Bruce may have lost his temper at some point and tried to yank the thing off with brute force. He supposed even the most logical person in the world was allowed a little tantrum in the face of something so ridiculous. 

Now, Clark had moved past being uncomfortable with the situation to just being bored. He had built the foundation for a fortress in Minecraft, but it wasn’t holding his attention like usual. Thankfully, it was a Saturday, so he didn’t have to call in sick. But there was only so much of silence he could take without cracking.

“Any new information on the bracelet? Did you get the results back on the tests you were running?” Clark finally asked, when it became clear the other man was not going to volunteer anything.

“Yes, I did get the results back, but nothing of any use at the moment. Mostly unidentified alloys and some kind of nanotech, if I am guessing correctly, but nothing familiar. I’ll let you know if I make any progress.” Bruce had the demeanor of a tired parent explaining to their child that they hadn’t reached the destination yet, which was blatantly unfair. Clark had waited until they’d gone at least six hours without a single word.

“You never did tell me why we were at that lab in the first place.” Clark pointed out. He had been at home, enjoying a quiet night in when he had been texted a location followed by a brusque message of _Be there in 15 minutes_. He really should have a word with Bruce about his manners, but then again, he had been there in under twelve minutes, so he supposed he had only himself to blame.

“Unusual power signatures.” Bruce said shortly. Clark made a pointed “keep going” gesture with his hand. “There was no reason for a R&D lab to be drawing enough power to run a city block. I thought it was suspicious.” He frowned slightly after his reply, turning away briskly.

“Do you make a habit of monitoring the power usage of all the citizens in Metropolis?” Clark didn’t know why he was surprised anymore. Bruce seemed to regard privacy concerns as a minor inconvenience to his goals at most.

“Yes; you really do need to switch off your bathroom light when you’re not at home. You would think someone as environmentally conscious as you would be more careful. I could set up a smart system if you’d like.”

Clark was so surprised by the comment, he almost missed the slight smirk on the other man’s face. He couldn’t help a startled laugh. “Did you just make a joke?” he demanded.

Bruce’s smirk grew just a fraction before being wiped away as he turned back to the screen. Clark had to admit he was a bit of a sucker for that smirk.

“Do you know anything more about the lab?”

“It is registered to a company called Green Futures Tech. Their website says they specialize in clean technologies. There were a lot of stock images of clean lakes and forests on their website.”

“That sounds awfully generic and suspicious.” Clark remarked.

“Yes, I thought so, too…hence the visit.”

“Do you want me to go back and take a look? Or we could send Barry even. He’d be in and out before they even realized something was up.”

“No, they almost certainly have discovered the absence of their tech by now. They would be on their guard. Even Barry would show up on a good enough surveillance system.”

“Fair enough.”

“I noticed that they haven’t called the police or reported a break-in yet.” Bruce informed him.

“Yeah, that certainly ups the ante on suspicious behavior.”

“I would have though creating a mind control device would be enough evidence of that.”

“Wait, mind control? Is it making you want to do anything else?”

“No,” Bruce said, a fraction of a second too quickly. Clark made a mental note to come back to it later. “I should have said mind-altering, perhaps. I would not have gotten rid of all my kryptonite if I was my normal self.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t.” Clark agreed, although he was sure Bruce was hiding something. Then again, withholding information was the Dark Knight’s default state, so Clark shouldn’t be surprised.

Bruce glanced at him speculatively. “The kryptonite…” he started, but Clark wasn’t ready to have that particular discussion either. He cut him off quickly.

“I get it, Bruce.”

The other man nodded sharply before turning back to the multitude of screens. Clark went back to feeling bored.

At least he had to admit that, unsurprisingly, Alfred had treated Clark like royalty. He had even gone to Clark’s apartment personally to pick up his laptop and few of Clark’s clothes, which was a bit of a relief. Everything in this place felt so expensive, Clark had spent the last night convinced he would somehow destroy what was probably a five-hundred-dollar robe.

Alfred showed Barry into the cave around seven in the evening. Clark thought that the young hero looked entirely too amused at the situation.

“Hey, so I heard Bruce is now bonded in servitude to you. That’s gotta be cool.” Bruce pointedly ignored him, which seemed to be his general method of dealing with the speedster. “Can you make him dance, or, you know, maybe talk about his feelings?”

“Well, it will be an excellent test of the power of my commands when I have to stop him from killing you.” Clark remarked casually.

“Or perhaps freezing his bank accounts.” Bruce added dryly. “I have a number of far more subtle ways to make someone’s life miserable. I doubt you could stop me from doing something that you weren’t even aware of.”

Barry paled slightly. Clark could sympathize; it was difficult to tell when Bruce was joking at the best of times.

“Right, sorry. I just wanted to come by and see if there was anything I could do to help.”

“You mean you came by to gawk and amuse yourself?” Bruce asked, finally turning away from the monitor.

“That too,” Barry said agreeably. “But mostly I just wanted to see if I could wrangle a meal out of Alfred. “He set up like a seven-course dinner last time I was here… there were dishes with names I couldn’t even pronounce, but everything tasted awesome.” He turned to look at Clark a little sadly. “Hey, you get to stay here for however long it takes to fix this. That’s gotta be like a dozen meals at least. That’s so unfair.”

“Glad to know you have your priorities sorted out,” Clark said, amused despite himself. You could trust Barry to somehow make a situation feel a lot less dire than it was.

Alfred appeared out of thin air as if summoned. Clark had a sneaking suspicion the older man was somehow keeping an eye on them at all times. Bruce had to have learnt it from somewhere.

“I think an early dinner would be an excellent idea,” the butler said, looking at Bruce in particular. “Might I suggest taking a break for the day?” He sighed and amended himself when Bruce simply glared at him. “Or at least a couple of hours?”

“I think I will continue for now,” Bruce said firmly. “The three of you can leave if you like. In fact, I strongly recommend it.”

“Oh, come on, Bruce. You have been staring at the same screen for the last hour and a half. Unless looking at the alloy names for the eighth time will somehow yield results. Even I have them learnt by heart now,” Clark argued.

The other man gave him a surprised glance. Clark tried not to feel offended. “Hey, the screens are right there, out in the open. Unless you somehow think I can’t read.”

Bruce seemed to give in, even if he did seem unhappy about it, judging by the deepening glower. “Fine. Let’s go.” Clark made sure to keep a straight face and keep his little victory celebration entirely in his mind. This might only be the fourth time the other man had agreed that someone else was right for as long as Clark had known him.

Dinner was a surprisingly pleasant affair. There weren’t any dishes with unpronounceable names, just generous helpings of grilled chicken, with potatoes and baked vegetables on the side. Clark wasn’t sure whether or not to be offended that he hadn’t warranted a seven-course meal from Alfred.

Barry carried the bulk of the conversation, chattering about his new job at the police department with excitement. Clark remembered his own wonder at working as a journalist for the first time after years of dreaming about it. It had been a good time in his life, somehow a lot simpler than it was these days.

Bruce didn’t contribute much more than a few well-placed grunts, but Clark could tell he was listening carefully. Bruce always did seem to have had a bit of a soft spot for the younger man.

At one point, Clark reached over to grab the potatoes and accidentally brushed his hand across Bruce’s. He expected the other man to pull away, but to his surprise Bruce seemed to intensify the contact, pushed against him slightly before seeming to remember himself and pulling away. His entire body seemed to relax for a fraction of a second, as if some significant pain had been relieved.

As much as Clark would like to think that his touch would evoke such a response in the other man, he was under no delusions. He was sure that the stubborn superhero was trying to hide something. If the bracelet was making Bruce uncomfortable for being away from him, maybe it was trying to force physical contact as well. Not that Clark would mind that too much; he was all for more physical contact in general between the two of them. He briefly imagined taking Bruce’s hand and pulling him in for a kiss, watching the pleasure unfold on the other man’s face. He felt guilty a moment later, as he was reminded suddenly that his teammate was suffering right now. He needed to figure out how to help Bruce, not waste time indulging his own idle fantasies.

As much as he didn’t like the idea, he kept quiet for the time being. He knew that Bruce would hate the thought of any weakness being exposed, even if it was in front of teammates like Barry and Clark.

So, Clark steeled himself and ignored his newfound realization, instead focusing on Barry’s story about the state of the printers at the department. But now that he knew, it was easy to note that there were still lines of tension on Bruce’s face. The other man was economical with his motions at the best of times, but now he seemed even stiffer than usual. Of course, Bruce wouldn’t say or do anything to make life easier for himself. It seemed to be a consistent character flaw.

However, Clark had no intention of letting the topic go, even though he knew he was in for a very uncomfortable conversation.

“Bruce,” he started, once they were back in the Cave. Clark had made a halfhearted suggestion about turning in for the day after Barry left, but Bruce had simply walked back here, not even deigning to argue. “Is there something you are not telling me?”

Bruce looked at him speculatively. “There are many things I am not telling you.”

“Oh, you know what I am talking about. About the bracelet?”

“I wish you would stop referring to an extremely complex piece of technology as a bracelet.”

Clark ignored the diversion. “Bruce, I don’t want to command you into sharing information. But we all need to know exactly what it’s doing to you. Is it making you….oh crap, let me rephrase. It would be nice to know if this tech is making you want to make physical contact with me.”

Bruce glared at him for a few seconds before slumping slightly. “I am feeling an urge to touch you, yes.”

“Is it hurting… oh you know what, this is getting stupid.”

“Getting?” Bruce smirked at him.

“Never mind. Look, feel free to tell me if the bracelet is hurting you when you don’t touch me. If you want to, that is.”

“Not exactly, more like a mild discomfort that disappeared when we did.” Bruce looked intensely embarrassed at the admission. “I wasn’t aware of it until it went away.”

“Sure you weren’t. Look I don’t have cooties…you don’t have to make your life miserable.” Clark pointed out reasonably.

“I appreciate the offer, but I really don’t need you to hold my hand.” Bruce said sharply. “However, I will let you know if it gets to be a problem,” he allowed, a second later. Clark supposed that was the best he could get for now.

He contemplated the wisdom of hugging the other man briefly; but decided he preferred all his limbs intact. He couldn’t stop himself from patting his teammate on the shoulder though. He could feel the instant relaxation in the other man’s body again at the touch. He really wished Bruce would ease up slightly. If he had been the one to require constant touch from Bruce, he would have been milking it for all it was worth.

He sighed and removed his hand. For now, all he could do was to hang around and hope he didn’t make the situation worse.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the feedback! really makes my day!
> 
> There might a little bit of mangling of science in this chapter...its not my area of expertise but i took my best guess :)

It turned out that living at the lake house wasn’t too bad. It was still painfully awkward, but Bruce seemed to have relaxed marginally after their talk yesterday, even if he did seem a little wary around Clark. Clark manfully resisted the urge to try a sneak hug attack. He had a feeling it would not end well for anyone.

Bruce was back at the screens, although he did seem to be making more headway today, if his frenzied typing was any indication. Clark was just starting to let his guard down and maybe start believing that they would come out of this situation relatively unscathed.

And then the game show he’d been idly watching while Bruce worked got interrupted for some breaking news. Diana showed up less than thirty seconds later.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Clark muttered, his brain blatantly refusing to accept the information. “I can’t leave here now, Diana. I am sure they can figure something out. Doesn’t NASA have contingencies for their contingencies? Why are they still even sending people to the moon at all? People are just going to pretend it’s a hoax anyway.”

“Clark,” Diana didn’t sound happy either. “They must be fairly desperate if they are willing to admit to this kind of failure publicly.”

Clark glanced again at the newscaster who had just announced a major equipment failure on the Artemis mission, leaving six crew on the moon with limited resources and no way to get back. “NASA asks Superman for help” flashed across the screen in bright red.

“Of course there isn’t any other option.” Bruce sounded remarkably calm for someone in his position. Clark would have been losing his shit right about now. “Diana is right, you can be rest assured they played out every viable scenario before calling for Superman. Obviously, you will need to give our brave explorers a lift back.”

“You have no idea what the bracelet would do if I got a hundred leagues away, let alone a couple of hundred thousand miles. It could kill you.” Clark pointed out sharply.

“Possibly. It might or it might not. We don’t know enough yet about the bracelet to be sure either way. Regardless, are you willing to let six people die a horribly lonely death?” Clark was starting to be annoyed by just how reasonable Bruce was being. Would it kill him to treat his own safety as a priority, at least occasionally?

“Maybe there’s some way I can take you with me,” Clark muttered, fully aware that he sounded ridiculous, but he was panicking at the thought of leaving Bruce alone, possibly to die a horribly painful death himself.

“I’ll just get out my fully functional space craft, shall I?” Bruce was openly sneering at him now, and admittedly Clark had that one coming.

“Clark, Bruce is right. I do not like it either, but there is no time for delay. The astronauts have resources for a couple of days, at best. Besides, their equipment has already malfunctioned and all that’s separating them from death is a thin metal sheet.” She sounded as if she was reading the weather, but Clark could feel the weight of her words anyway.

“The trip there should be relatively simple,” Bruce remarked. “It shouldn’t take you more than a couple of minutes. The difficult part is flying them back. The human body can only take so much acceleration before it gives up.”

“Yeah, I know, Bruce. The fastest I could get them here safely would be close to fifteen hours. That’s a long time under these circumstances.”

“Diana, could I have a word alone with Clark?” Bruce asked their teammate. She nodded grimly and left them alone

“Clark. You are stalling. You and I both know you need to do this. There’s really no need for this much drama.”

“Drama?” Clark asked, finally starting to lose his tenuous grip on his temper. “You think it’s dramatic for me to not want to be directly responsible for the death of a teammate? You know, Bruce, I have tried to be good natured about this, but it isn’t exactly been my idea of a fun time either. The least you could you do is not be an ass about it.”

He was somewhat satisfied to see that Bruce seem to be a bit taken aback at that. And then immediately felt bad about it because he had no idea if the bracelet would somehow punish the other man if Clark got angry. Then again, that would be nothing compared to what he could expect if he decided to take an impromptu trip to the moon.

“You’re right,” Bruce agreed, surprisingly easily. “I have no right to be mad at you. None of this is on you. And it certainly wouldn’t be your fault if the bracelet overreacts to your little space adventure.” Clark supposed that was the best he could expect from the other man.

“I knew you’d come around to calling it a bracelet.” Clark grinned despite himself, absurdly grateful for even a small distraction.

“And you can be worse than Barry at times. I forget I am dealing with a bunch of teenagers sometimes.” Bruce paused and sighed. “Look, Clark; please, just go. I will probably be fine. We can discuss this later.”

Clark nodded quickly and left the room before he could change his mind again. He nodded at Diana as he passed by her. She grabbed him for a quick hug, whispering, “I’ll do my best to make sure he’s all right.” It wasn’t particularly comforting.

He imagined he felt a little drop in his stomach when he stepped out of the house, knowing he was already fifty feet away, and knowing it was about to get a lot worse very quickly. Deciding there was no point in putting off the inevitable, he took off into the sky.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

True to his estimation, the trip had taken exactly fifteen hours and seventeen minutes from the second he left Bruce to when he was finally able to drop off the shuttle in front of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. It had taken him another three minutes to finally reach the Batcave, dreading what he would find. When faced with all of Batman’s bravado, it was so easy to forget that he was the most vulnerable of all of them physically. Clark wasn’t sure what he would do if it turned out the other man was already gone.

The second he stepped into the house, he was relieved that he could make out three heartbeats… Bruce’s familiar one among them, even if it did seem weaker than normal. He followed the sounds to Bruce’s bedroom, relieved to find the other man in bed, unconscious but very much alive.

Diana and Alfred were talking quietly but stood up to greet him in relief.

“Clark, he’s okay,” Diana said redundantly.

Clark didn’t resist the urge to go over and take Bruce’s hand. It wasn’t like the other man could stop him at the moment anyway.

“What happened?”

“It wasn’t pleasant,” Diana admitted. “The effects set in pretty quickly. The bracelet was injecting him at a frequency of twice a minute for the absolute worst of it. He finally agreed to be knocked out three hours in, after some… strenuous persuasion. We thought it would be better to keep him under till you got back. He’s been getting better for the last hour.”

Clark nodded, grateful it hadn’t been worse. Bruce was still alive, which was enough for now.

“How do you think he will react if he wakes up to me in bed with him?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Diana smiled—probably more in pity than anything else, but he would take it right now. “I would be careful. Bruce is very attached to his personal space.”

“Eh, I’ll take my chances.” It felt awkward, but he moved Bruce carefully on the humongous bed, sitting up on the headboard next to the unconscious man. This wasn’t exactly how he had pictured ending up in bed with Bruce. Still, he’d take it. He felt like he needed to be close, even if Bruce didn’t. Diana left quietly, giving Clark a companionable pat on the shoulder when she left.

It didn’t take long for the other man to wake up, now that he wasn’t being pumped full of sedatives. Clark wasn’t surprised that the billionaire seemed to have enough equipment and drugs around to run a small clinic. It made him wonder exactly how many times the other man had been in mortal danger here in the last twenty years. There was even a monitor attached, cheerfully displaying his vitals.

“I see you’re back,” Bruce remarked groggily, glancing at Clark’s hand where it was gripping his own.

“Yeah, all six astronauts accounted for and safely delivered to NASA. I even got a personal thank you from someone who looked very important. I didn’t hang around to get details,” Clark agreed, not bothering to let go of the other man’s hand.

“Hmmm. Yes well, I am sure it was very satisfying.” Bruce said. Clark noticed he didn’t make any attempt to pull away. He must be exhausted.

“We do need to sort this out quickly. We can’t afford this much of a liability,” Bruce remarked. “I should get back to work.”

“If you think you can make it to the cave on your own steam, you are welcome to try.” Clark was fairly confident even Bruce wouldn’t be up to it just yet.

Bruce made a half-hearted attempt to move before sighing and settling back down. “Maybe in a couple of hours.”

Clark was relieved to see Bruce’s colour come back to something resembling normal as he continued to sleep. Alfred came by to hand Clark his phone, and a tray with enough sandwiches to feed Barry. He didn’t really need it, but it was enjoyable anyway.

He tried to catch up on some work. Fortunately, he had remembered to ask for a sick day at work before his unscheduled trip, so at the very least he didn’t need to worry about getting fired just yet. However, he found himself distracted easily. Bruce was right that they were in a very vulnerable position at the moment, and he had no idea if they could survive another catastrophe.

The older man finally woke up a few hours later, but seemed disinclined to get up, making Clark realize just how bad it must have been. He had seen the other man go on patrol or even Justice League missions with barely healed broken bones on multiple occasions.

“Feeling better?” Clark asked, taking Bruce’s hand again. He winced immediately afterward, having not meant to coerce Bruce with a direct question. Fortunately, Bruce didn’t seem angry as he responded.

“Yes, I feel less like a truck is running me over, backing up and trying again.” Bruce finally sat up as well.

“Bruce, I am…” Clark tried to find the right words to apologize somehow, but was quickly cut off by his teammate.

“You did what had to be done. I’m fine,” Bruce said, voice a little too even to be natural.

“I’d like to hear more about how you’re feeling, if you don’t mind telling me.” Clark asked, not expecting much.

Bruce considered, head tilted slightly. “As well as can be expected. I am not in any discomfort at the moment.” He stared at Clark’s hand, still entwined with his. “You can let go at any time.”

“I am good for now,” Clark said firmly, tightening his grip slightly. He was surprised when the other man didn’t protest.

“You do realize none of this is your fault? I realize you have a bit of a martyr complex, but you can’t be reasonably held responsible for everything that goes wrong,” Bruce was practically mumbling at this point, with the air of someone who would much rather be doing anything else.

“Look who’s talking. But yes, Bruce; I realize that. That wouldn’t have made much of a difference if I had come back to find you dead,” Clark admitted, feeling discomfited at the thought.

“I suppose I can understand that. Not everyone has the ability to bring people back from the dead. It takes a significant amount of skill and intelligence.” Bruce smirked slightly.

“Not to mention the kind of pigheadedness needed to convince themselves—and other presumably intelligent people—that it was a good idea. I am still surprised you managed to convince Diana the only reasonable option was to go the Dr. Frankenstein route.”

Bruce looked slightly put off. “I’ll have you know it was an extremely well thought out and logical plan. Evinced by the fact that it worked.”

“Or in other words, you threw everything you could at the wall and something stuck?”

“You’d be surprised how often that strategy has worked for me over the years.” Bruce looked a little too smug for someone just barely out of a near-death experience. In fact, Clark was pretty sure he could see a light blush on his teammate now.

“I never did properly thank you for that, did I?” Clark asked.

“Only you would consider thanking the person responsible for your death. How very polite of you.”

Clark glanced at the other man, who didn’t seem to be joking anymore. The smirk had faded fully now. He hadn’t meant to drag up old grievances.

“I didn’t think I needed to say it, but you weren’t responsible….”

“Of creating the weapon that ended up killing you?” Bruce was looking away now, face carefully blank.

“The weapon that killed Doomsday,” Clark corrected. “Look, Bruce. I wish we hadn’t had to fight to get to where we are now, but I got over that a long time ago. Maybe you should, as well.”

Bruce looked at him speculatively, and inclined his head slightly, as if conceding the point. Clark knew better than to assume it would be quite that easy though. Still, maybe their little talk had been long overdue.

“For what it’s worth,” Bruce started, a bit hesitantly. “I am glad you’re back. It was not a pleasant experience.”

Clark felt another rush of anger at the situation, forcing Bruce to be dependent on another human being. It was a cruel punishment for someone so fiercely independent. “I am glad to be back.” He squeezed Bruce’s hand again, pleased at the physical contact. He wondered if the bracelet was somehow affecting him too.

Alfred came in a bit later with some soup for Bruce, which the other man accepted somewhat gracelessly, mumbling about not being an invalid. Bruce dropped off to sleep again a little later, looking almost back to normal.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the feedback! Really makes my day :)

Clark ended up spending the night in Bruce’s room, a little too shaken to actually leave his friend and teammate alone yet. A couple of years ago, he had hated Bruce. He had been so sure that the other man was a menace; not just to Gotham, but to every principle that Clark had believed in. There were still times when he was furious at Bruce’s actions, but the hatred had evaporated a long time ago. Now, he wasn’t quite sure what he felt for the man sleeping beside him, but he had been terrified at the idea of losing his teammate. The whole day had been emotionally exhausting. Of all the scenarios he ‘d imagined of spending the night in Bruce’s bed, this was definitely a shocker. It took him a long time to fall asleep among the confusing swirl of thoughts in his brain.

Waking up in bed with Bruce was pretty startling. Bruce was already awake, typing away busily on his computer. Clark noted that it was past eight and the other man had made no move to leave the bed just yet. If fact, they were still in contact, Bruce’s leg resting against his over the covers. As much as he enjoyed the sensation, it made him immediately suspicious. Bruce should have been in the cave by now, instead of lounging around here.

“Well, never thought I’d spend the night with the infamous Bruce Wayne.” Clark remarked, causally moving away from the other man slightly. He made note of the slight wince that was quickly camouflaged under a smirk.

“I am sorry to say that you wouldn’t be the first journalist to be in this position.” Bruce leered at him in an exaggerated manner, every bit the Bruce Wayne who appeared in the tabloids.

“Oh, I am well aware. Though I must say, reviews of your performance are a bit mixed back at the Daily Planet.”

Bruce actually looked a little offended at that. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“How are you… I mean I’d appreciate it if you could tell me how you are feeling.” Clark said, a little disgruntled when the reason for Bruce still being here finally hit him in full force. Bruce wasn’t in bed with him because he wanted to be. It was selfish of him to be enjoying this at all.

Bruce paused for a long time, leading Clark to think he was about to be told to mind his own business. “I think yesterday’s adventure may have exacerbated the effects of the device.”

“Oh,” Clark wasn’t surprised that no matter how bad a situation seemed, it could always be counted on to get worse.

“The effects seem to be a lot stronger than before. I seem have become… obsessed with you. It took me a significant amount of time to convince myself not to bring you breakfast in bed, or maybe offer a massage.”

Clark wasn’t surprised. “Do you think it was due to the separation yesterday?” he asked, trying not to wallow in guilt all over again.

“I don’t know. I have been working on this damn thing for two days and I have no clue how it works. I have made zero fucking progress,” Bruce started hotly. He took a deep breath. “It could just be a natural progression. Only the demented person who made it would be able to tell you.”

“Look, maybe we need some help here. I could go have a talk with Lex. Even if he isn’t involved, he might have some idea what’s going on.”

Bruce considered the idea. “I don’t like the idea. Working with Lex can be dangerous at the best of times. He might somehow twist this to his own advantage. That being said, I can’t think of a better option at the moment. I haven’t been on patrol in two days… people will start noticing soon.”

“I’ll set it up,” Clark agreed. Bruce continued to look unhappy. “Look, I promise I’ll be careful. I won’t volunteer any information, just check if he has heard of anything suspicious.”

Bruce nodded lightly. “Agreed. Since you are up, how do you feel about breakfast? I haven’t had coffee yet.”

“That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Sure, I am always game for food.”

“I noticed. Although you don’t actually need to eat, do you? It’s just part of your pretense to be human, normal and boring like the rest of us.” Bruce seemed amused at the thought, smiling slightly.

Clark felt a sharp stab of hurt at the words and couldn’t help lashing out. “Yes, well. I’d give you tips on how to pretend to be something you are not, but you have that covered.” He was aware he sounded childish. He was surprised when Bruce visibly stricken at his words.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” the other man muttered. “I was just… never mind.”

Only Bruce could made him feel bad after insulting him in the first place. “It’s fine, it’s just a bit of a touchy subject for me.” He felt the absurd need to explain himself. “You’re right. I spend my life doing things just like everyone else, eating, sleeping, riding a bike to work… but I don’t need to do any of that, do I?”

“Of course you do. All those things are as natural to you as flying to the moon as back. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”

Clark took the implied apology gracefully. He never could seem to hold a grudge. “True. Also, I may not need to eat, but it’s a lot of fun. Do you think I can convince Alfred to bring more of those cheddar cup things?”

“I am sure Alfred would arrange for pretty much anything you wanted. He seems to have taken a shine to you.”

“It’s my sparking personality,” Clark pointed out smugly.

“I am sure it is.”

Breakfast was a much more companionable affair this time around. Clark didn’t think he’d get away with holding Bruce’s hand again, but he pointed took the seat next to Bruce, dragging his chair till it was touching Bruce’s.

He considered the wisdom of messaging Perry that he would be missing work again. He seriously hoped he wouldn’t get fired over this. It had been hard enough getting his job back after mysteriously reappearing from the dead.

A few minutes later, the phone rang, Lois’s name popping up on the screen. “Hey, Lois. How are you?” he asked causally, knowing full well that he was about to get shouted at. To be honest, he had forgotten about her in the last couple of days.

“Really, Clark? That’s what you are going with? I haven’t heard from you in days and Perry says you are blowing off work on a permanent basis these days.”

“I’m sorry! Look, something unavoidable has come up.”

“Is the team all right? Bruce, Diana?” Her tone changed immediately, shifting into crisis handling mode.

“Yes, everyone’s fine for now. But I need you to cover for me with Perry again.” Clark winced, knowing he was putting her in an impossible situation.

“That’s not going to be possible, Clark. Look, it’s been a busy couple of days, and Perry is about to blow his gasket. I’d show up today, if I were you.”

Clark swore to himself. “Look, I’ll call you back, okay?” He sighed and cut the call.

Bruce glanced at him, obviously having been listening in. “Let me guess, you need to go to work.”

“It would significantly decrease my chance of ending up unemployed.” Clark admitted. “But it’s fine, I’ll figure something out. I can’t exactly show up to work with Bruce Wayne in tow.”

Bruce smirked lightly, “Well, it does create a certain reputation. But you should go. It was not easy forging the papers to bring you back to life and get back that job you seem to like so much. I’d hate to spoil all that.”

“I am not leaving you here.” Clark said emphatically. A life or death situation was one thing, but he wouldn’t leave Bruce to suffer just to hold on to a job.

“And I appreciate that. But you don’t need to. One thing about Bruce Wayne is that people seldom question him when he deigns to make an appearance. I could come by and hang out for a couple of hours. Would that be sufficient to appease your boss?”

Clark considered the proposition. “It’s worth a shot.”

“I’ll ask Alfred to arrange a car. Not all of us have the option of flying into work.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and comments! Hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Clark had to admit Bruce Wayne knew how to make an appearance. All he had to do was pop in, acting as if he had every right to be here, and the entire place was buzzing with excitement. Clark was able to easily avoid everyone’s attention as he ducked through the door, and he got to his desk while the other reporters honed in on the billionaire suddenly in their midst. Bruce appeared to be basking in the attention as a crowd of people gathered around him in a matter of minutes. Clark felt a little uncomfortable being away from him, even if it was well within the radius.

Of course, he couldn’t escape Lois, who seemed to have been waiting for him.

“Of course, it was something to do with him,” she remarked, glancing at the commotion. “Wanna tell me what’s going on now?”

Clark did want to, very much. Lois had always been so easy to talk to. That hadn’t changed when they realized they just couldn’t make their relationship work. But this didn’t feel like his secret to tell. The idea of betraying Bruce’s vulnerability at the moment just didn’t seem to go over well in his mind. Not even to Lois.

“It’s complicated,” he muttered, aware of just how cliched he sounded. Lois continued to glare at him. “We’re working on it; a few days tops and it will be sorted out,” he added quickly.

“Hmmm,” she remarked, watching Perry come out to greet Bruce and guide him into his office, away from the adoring masses. “Bruce Wayne in Metropolis, that’s something.”

Clark knew this tactic of hers well, not saying anything specific, forcing the other person to keep talking and handing them the rope to hand themselves. That didn’t mean it was still effective.

“Something big has come up,” he said, trying not to outright lie. “We need to work together to sort it out, so he came by.”

“I see.” She leaned back in her chair, looking at him with not a little interest. “So, it’s purely work-related?”

“Of course it is, what else would it be?” Clark sounded defensive, even to himself. He wasn’t even lying, he didn’t know why he was acting guilty. Whatever occasional thoughts he might have about Bruce, there was nothing actually going on.

“Clark, I know we aren’t together anymore, but I still want you to talk to me.”

“I am. I mean I would be, if there was anything to say.”

“So, you are just going to pretend nothing is happening between the two of you.”

“Oh, I think you have completely the wrong idea of what’s going on here.”

“Possibly, given that you seem to not be telling me anything. But Clark, I know you. This thing with Bruce… it’s been building for a long time. I just want you to be careful. You don’t fall for people easily, but when you do, you don’t do it by half measures.”

“Yeah, you definitely have the wrong idea, Lois. Bruce and I are not involved, not like that.”

“And no part of you wants to be?” Lois asked, with the manner of someone who already knows the answer to the question they just asked.

The denial was fully formed in his mind, but somehow he couldn’t make himself say it out loud.

“That’s what I thought,” Lois murmured quietly. “Clark, I am happy that you were able to move on after… after. But you never do make things easy for yourself, so you? Bruce Wayne isn’t exactly going to be a walk in the park, even at the best of times." She nodded at the office, where they could see Bruce talking through the glass, looking for all the world as if he owned the place.

“He’s not that bad,” Clark blurted out reflexively. She smiled smugly. He shut up quickly, realizing he had fallen into her trap.

“Maybe he isn’t. You are a good judge of character, when you want to be. Just be careful, all right?” She patted him on the leg before walking away.

He made a valiant effort to focus on work. For all the trouble Bruce had gone though, he should at least get some work done. He managed to get a draft of his article ready in the next couple of hours, although he wouldn’t attest to the quality.

Bruce finally emerged around lunchtime, making a beeline to his desk. Clark winced as he realized they now had the attention of every single person in the office, even as they pretended to be busy at their seats.

“Mr. Kent. It’s been a while.” Bruce said solicitously, offering his hand for a shake. Clark glared at him, wondering exactly what the other man was up to. He grabbed his hand, squeezing just a bit harder than necessary to express his annoyance.

“Likewise. What are you doing at our office?”

“My company has started a new initiative, sort of like a Make a Wish program for children in Gotham. I feel—and Perry agrees with me—that it would make for an interesting story. I am afraid you have been volunteered for the job. I look forward to seeing you in Gotham. Pack your bags, it might take a few days.”

Clark had to admit it was a neat solution. The name Wayne did make a lot of things easier. At the very least, he didn’t need to worry about being fired immediately.

“Sounds fascinating. Your work is very admirable, Mr. Wayne,” Clark said. He injected as much sarcasm as he could into his voice and was rewarded with a grimace from the other man.

“I’ll see you in Gotham, Kent.” Bruce grinned and walked away, leaving Clark to scramble to find an excuse to follow

The car ride back to Gotham was quiet, but he took advantage of the opportunity to snuggle up to Bruce a little. The older man seemed a little pale, as if even the brief separation at the office had impacted him. Clark tried not to be too pleased at the fact that Bruce was no longer even attempting to pull away.

Barry and Diana were waiting at the house when they reached.

“Hey, Bruce. How’s it going?” Barry asked immediately.

“Fine,” Bruce grunted, pushing past the young speedster to make his way to the Cave. Clark was now entirely convinced Bruce got withdrawal pangs when away from the place for too long. He wondered if the Dark Knight ever really relaxed. It seemed like he was always on the job, whether as Batman or Bruce Wayne. It must be exhausting.

Diana watched him carefully as he left the room. “He seems to be doing much better than yesterday.” She remarked, sitting back down on the luxurious sofa.

“Yeah, I think so.” Clark agreed. “But I think it’s getting worse. He said the effects seemed to be intensifying. You know what, I think I better join him.” He was getting antsy with the other man out of sight.

“Hmmm….do you think the device is influencing you too?” Diana frowned, looking at him worriedly.

“No, I don’t think so. I just don’t want him to be in discomfort unnecessarily,” Clark said, but the truth was, he wasn’t sure how much, if any, of his concern was due to the bracelet and how much was him just wanting to be around Bruce.

His talk with Lois still weighed on his mind. Her suspicions regarding their relationship had discomfited him more than he cared to admit. He knew he had been spending more time around Bruce in the last few months, but it had felt natural. They were colleagues, and probably at least well on the way to being friends. Then again, Lois seldom smelt smoke without fire. He had to admit, the idea of a relationship with the other man didn’t seem… impossible. He had no illusions about it being easy, but it wouldn’t be entirely unwelcome. Learning more about Bruce, in snippets from old news stories and the occasional conversation with Alfred, had convinced him Bruce was a good man at his core. And that had always mattered to Clark.

“I see.” Diana’s frown deepened. “Regardless, Barry has some news that may be helpful. Perhaps we should join Bruce.”

Clark felt a distinct sense of relief when he finally saw the other man sitting in front of the monitors again. He quickly made his way over to stand next to Bruce, but refrained from touching him in front of the others.. Barry and Diana also joined his side, albeit at a more sedate pace.

Barry practically vibrated with excitement now when he spoke to Bruce. “So, I managed to get a friend at the Metropolis PD to take a look at the Green Futures Tech. He say there’s not much of a trail… only a registered office in Metropolis and two labs. He also said they haven’t been audited—like, at all. Plus there’s a lot of conflicting information out there on the board and the employees. He said it’s got all the classic signs of being a front—for you know, like, something sinister.”

Bruce turned to look at Barry, although he didn’t seem too impressed, glowering at the speedster. Clark resisted the urge to tell him to lay off. “I see. Any actionable information, names? Records?”

“Yeah, right, I meant to start with that. The name Erica Alexandria came up. She is like really rich—hey, maybe you know her?”

“It’s not an official club, Barry. But that’s useful. I have come across the name before. She was connected to an organization called Agenda. They had their hands in reproducing metahuman abilities at the time. They seem to be branching out.”

“Agenda?” Clark asked, unable to keep from snorting. “It’s like they’re asking for people to get suspicious.”

Bruce grunted lightly. “Yes, subtlety wasn’t their strong suit. That’s being said, they were a pretty efficient outfit with a not insignificant amount of influence. This just got a lot harder.”

“But, you’re Batman,” Barry pointed out slowly, as if Bruce was unaware of the fact. “Plus we have Superman and, like, a literal goddess on our team, not to mention Arthur and Victor. Couldn’t we just go in there and you know… make them fix it?”

“Let’s call that Plan B. Like I said, they are not to be trifled with. I believe she has at least three US senators on her speed dial and has a well-established public persona. I don’t want to see on the news tomorrow that the Justice League was caught harassing into a so-called legitimate business.”

“Oh,” Barry said, grin dropping off his face almost comically.. “Have you made any headway with the bracelet then? Can you maybe reverse it somehow?”

“No,” Bruce admitted. “I have significantly more data than I did two days ago, but I don’t think I am going to be able to undo this by myself.”

“What about Lex?” Clark asked again, glancing at Bruce. “He has a lot of power for a guy sitting in a prison cell.”

“It’s one thing to fish for information. Asking him for help is a whole different animal,” Bruce muttered, but Clark noted that he hadn’t shot down the idea yet. Bruce must be getting desperate.

“Clark is right,” Diana agreed. “It might be the best option we have for now. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. It is too great a vulnerability.”

“Hmmm…” Bruce looked torn. It was an unfamiliar expression on the other man.

“I was planning to talk to him anyway. There is no harm in just talking.” Clark argued, as much as he hated the idea of dealing with their former adversary. At this point, he was willing to try anything.

Bruce agreed grudgingly. He finally stood, abandoning his station. “I suppose there’s not much more I can do for now.”

“Bruce, I promise you we’ll figure it out.” Diana patted Bruce on the shoulder. “At any rate, I am glad you are feeling better. I’ll leave you and Clark to talk. Barry, let’s go.”

Barry looked glum. “Oh, I mean I was kind of hoping we could…”

“I believe they have much to discuss.” Diana’s tone was polite but left no room for argument.

“Oh, right. I guess we’ll see you later.”

Diana and Barry left silently, leaving Clark alone with Bruce again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback! Hope you continue to enjoy the story

Clark observed Bruce closely now that they were finally alone again. He moved slower than usual for him, face down and shoulders slumped just a fraction. It looked to Clark like he had aged ten years in the last few moments alone. Then again, Bruce probably wasn’t used to feeling helpless. Clark felt a sudden urge to comfort the other man.

“She’s right, you know. We’ll figure it out.” Clark wished he could offer more than empty platitudes.

“Of course,” Bruce agreed, although his scowl seemed to indicate scepticism. Clark resisted the urge to tell Bruce his face would stick that way if he kept it up. Somehow he didn’t think humour would be well received.

“How about you take a break for now… we could watch a movie,” Clark suggested.

“A movie.” Bruce sounded as if Clark had just suggested he jump off a very high cliff. Then again, Clark supposed Bruce might prefer cliff diving to watching a movie.

“Yes, Bruce. A movie… or anything else. Just relax a bit, like normal people.”

“Is that what normal people do?” Bruce was smirking slightly now.

“Yeah you know, watch a movie, eat something, relax… ” Clark suggested. He tried to make the idea sound appealing. He had to admit the thought appealed to him anyway. The two of them together on the large couch in the living room. Many of his fantasies had started from that exact scenario. Of course, they tended to become significantly less innocent quickly. He blushed slightly as a couple of graphic images crossed his mind, unbidden.

“That’s starting to sound like a date.” Bruce’s tone was teasing, surprising Clark. He walked till he was right in front of Clark. “I am almost forty-five years old… I don’t have the patience of going through the juvenile rituals anymore.”

Clark was frozen when the other man leaned in to press his lips to Clark’s. A little thrill of pleasure ran through his body as Bruce ran his tongue over Clark’s lips, seeking entry. He barely realized that he had parted his lips until Bruce’s tongue was gently twirling against his. Bruce’s lips were surprisingly soft, and Clark thought he could taste the faint taste of coffee at they continued to kiss, until Bruce finally pulled back a few long seconds later. “We could just skip all of that and go to my room… or yours, I’m not picky.” The older man sounded slightly breathless.

Bruce leaned back slightly as he waited for a response, but kept a solid grip on Clark’s left arm. Clark felt like he had been dropped into an alternate universe. “Bruce…” he hesitated. He couldn’t believe a single kiss had disoriented him so much. He knew it was a bad idea, especially right now, but he was getting too turned on to care anymore, especially with Bruce looking at him with that hungry expression on his face. Bruce was now stroking his arm slightly, distracting him further from just how bad of an idea this was right now.

“Unless I am mistaken that you aren’t interested. But I don’t think I am.” Bruce sounded remarkably confident. 

“No,” Clark admitted, trying to remind himself of the reasons why he should be stopping this, but they seemed a lot less convincing that it had been a few moments ago. He tried anyway, “But I don’t think now’s the right time.”

“On, the contrary, now’s the perfect time. Like I said, I’ve hit a brick wall in the work and you’re bored enough to suggest a movie. We could both be spending our time much more enjoyably.” Bruce hooked a finger into Clark’s belt loop and pulled him out of the Cave, seeming entirely confident that Clark would go along.

Clark had to admit, his confidence wasn’t unfounded. He followed Bruce to his room, hoping vigorously that they wouldn’t run into Alfred on the way. He had a feeling he would be painfully obvious to the butler.

Bruce didn’t waste any time when they finally entered his room, locking lips again vigorously. Clark broke off to close the door behind him firmly. He knew he was being paranoid, but something about Alfred reminded him of his mother. He was high on the list of people who he did not want to catch him having sex.

He wasn’t surprised that Bruce was a good kisser, mapping his mouth diligently with his tongue. He was so caught up that he didn’t realize Bruce had successfully unbuttoned his shirt until it was pushed off his shoulder. He couldn’t help a gasp when the other man bent down slightly to bite at his neck. He could register that it might have been enough to break skin on a normal person, almost as if Bruce was testing his limits. As it was, he just felt a light, tantalizing pressure that he found thoroughly enjoyable anyway.

“I bet you have never had a hickey in your life.” Bruce remarked between sharp nips.

“No,” he agreed easily. “But feel free to keep trying that. There’s always a first time.”

“I never back down from a challenge,” Bruce moved down further, running his tongue around Clark’s left nipple before giving a gentle bite. Clark had to suppress another moan, enjoying the sensations.

He quickly realized Bruce seemed to be a bit overdressed for the situation and started working on the other man’s buttons. He momentarily considered ripping the ridiculously expensive garment in half but decided Bruce’s complaints wouldn’t be worth it.

Bruce seemed a little hesitant for the first time, slowing his ministrations as he finally shrugged out of his shirt quickly. Clark took a good look, allowed to enjoy the view for the first time. He had seen Bruce shirtless before, but the other man was usually bleeding and/or unconscious during those occasions.

There were a few scars running across the older man’s body, but it hadn’t been quite as bad as he had once imagined it would be. Clark noticed a few yellowing bruises on his side as well, making note to avoid them. He took the opportunity to kiss the other man’s neck, enjoying the soft moan he received in return. So it turned out, Bruce wasn’t entirely a silent guy. Clark could work with that.

It didn’t take them both to both get naked after that, Bruce pushing Clark back onto the bed and moving to lie on top of him fully. Clark had never been with anyone who was bigger than him before. It was certainly an interesting experience.

He allowed Bruce to show off his skills for a few minutes, enjoying the sensation of a warm mouth on his body. He finally decided to take a little more initiative, flipping the other man neatly and kissing his way down his body. Bruce seemed fully onboard, his cock jutting out eagerly. Clark gave the tip a small kiss, getting a soft groan in return. He sucked on the head, and Bruce was not even bothering to suppress the litany of sounds issuing from his mouth. Clark was delighted that the other man seemed to be loud in bed.

Clark continued his task, humming encouragingly when Bruce finally tangled his hands into Clark’s hair, surprisingly softly. It was a surreal experience, finally seeing Bruce like this. He had imagined many different versions of how the other man would be in bed, from ranging from smooth and practiced to wild and passionate. The reality was a lot more… sedate. Bruce seemed surprisingly easygoing, apparently willing to let Clark take the lead. When Clark looked at him, he found the other man’s eyes laser locked on him, face still carefully blank for the most part. Clark had a sudden urge to draw more of reaction out of him, to break the shell and see his lover’s real, unbridled reactions. He took the other man in deeper, smiling when the grip on his hair tightened significantly, and yet another loud moan escaped. 

He kept it up for a few minutes, enjoying himself when Bruce’s reactions became increasingly unrestrained, his hips starting to move, almost imperceptibly at first but steadily picking up steam, and his left hand moving to tear at the sheets instead. 

“There’s lube in the left drawer,” Bruce finally gasped out, as if his patience had finally run out. Clark continued as if he hadn’t the pointed suggestion, until Bruce finally pushed him away and grabbed the bottle himself, shoving it into Clarks hand pointedly. “Hurry up, Clark, or I’ll just do it myself.”

Clark grinned at the testy tone. “Don’t let me stop you, that’s a sight I’d like to see.” His mind helpfully supplied the other man fingering himself eagerly, and he had to take a breath to try and calm down.

“Just shut up and fuck me.” Bruce’s entire body was flushing red now, and his expression was anything but blank anymore. Bruce lay back down, pulling Clark on top of him, kissing him almost violently. He allowed Bruce to vent his frustration at the teasing for a few seconds before gentling the kiss again. He was surprised when the other man slowly melted under him, moaning encouragingly as Clark prepared him thoroughly. Clark had to admit, he was also feeling pretty damn desperate by the time he finally slid in. He started moving, losing himself to the sensations. He gripped Bruce’s cock lightly with his already slick hand, drawing another loud groan from Bruce. Time seemed to slow down for a bit, and it seemed like a glorious eternity later that they finally finished, collapsing onto the bed in a tangle of long limbs. 

When Clark came to, he was laid out heavily on top of Bruce. The bigger man tolerated him for a few more seconds, before finally nudging him pointedly to the side. He collapsed onto the mattress, feeling pleasantly exhausted. A few seconds later Clark rolled over and threw an arm and leg over his lover, tucking his head into the crook of the bigger man’s shoulder. At least he wouldn’t need to find an excuse for physical contact anymore.

“Should have known you were a cuddler,” Bruce grumbled, though he did curl into Clark slightly. “Did Lois ever tell you that you feel like a furnace?”

“Yup, more than once,” Clark responded. “She was a big fan. Said I was like a giant hot water bottle.”

“There’s an image,” Bruce muttered.

Clark relaxed against him, determined not to let the grouch harsh his buzz. He felt better than he had in a long time.

“That was unexpected,” he told Bruce happily. “Not that I am complaining.”

“Yes, well. I generally don’t get many complaints.” Bruce looked distinctly self-satisfied.

“Smugness is not an attractive quality. Not even on you,” Clark pointed out. “But I have to ask, why now? I mean, if you want to tell me, your call,” he added quickly. Sex did tend to fry his brain a little.

“I suppose I just wasn’t able to resist your charms anymore,” Bruce commented lightly, clearly not comfortable with the conversation.

“Bruce,” Clark didn’t know why he was pushing the issue. He should just take the win. But he had a niggling feeling the whole thing had been a little too sudden.

He could feel Bruce tense under him. “I suppose it was just easier when I knew I wouldn’t get rejected.” Bruce replied, after a few long seconds.

“And you were somehow suddenly sure of that.” Clark was beginning to feel uneasy, barely remembering not to put it as a question. The other man didn’t respond.

Clark lifted his head to look at Bruce. His face was blank, no longer the relaxed smile from earlier. Clark sat up, feeling unsettled.

“Bruce…”

“Relax, you are overthinking it,” Bruce assured, trying to pull Clark into a kiss but he resisted. By now, he had some idea of the other man’s diversionary tactics.

“Clark,” Bruce began again, “I assure you, nothing’s going on. I just had an impression you wouldn’t object, and I decided to take advantage of that.”

“You can read my mind now,” Clark said, realization slowly dawning. “The bracelet is letting you know my thoughts.”

“Not exactly,” Bruce denied, a little too quickly.

“I am sorry, but I need to know,” Clark muttered, mostly to himself. He felt terrible for what he was about to do.

“Sorry for what?” Bruce asked suspiciously, starting to pull away.

“Bruce, what exactly is the bracelet doing that I don’t know about?”

Bruce’s face went from suspicious to stony, and he looked away from Clark sharply, but at least he finally got an honest reply. “The bracelet has been giving me a general sense of your feelings… happiness, annoyance, etc. I could feel that you wanted to have sex with me, yes.”

Clark felt numb. It was difficult to believe he had been so happy just a few moments ago.

“Well, your respect for my privacy didn’t last very long, did it? Only as long as it was convenient,” Bruce snapped, getting up off the bad and pulling on his pants.

Clark couldn’t bring himself to stop the other man. He sat in bed, feeling paralyzed as Bruce finished redressing and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic finally gets an 'E' tag. This was one of the hardest chapters to write! Leave a comment or Kudos if you liked it :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback! Hope you continue to enjoy the story!

Clark allowed himself a few minutes to wallow in self-pity, but it turned out, he wasn’t capable of leaving Bruce alone anymore. The thought of the other man in pain was enough to make himself get up and dress hastily. As much as he dreaded the thought of seeing the other man again after what had just happened, he couldn’t stay away from him.

He followed Bruce’s heartbeat outside the lake house and found him standing by the lake, gazing at the water. Despite Clark’s current mood, he couldn’t help admiring the sight. Bruce Wayne tended to be a spectacle, flashy suits and broad smiles and Batman was a vision in his own right, deadly and silent. But he didn’t often get a chance to observe Bruce without some type of armor, as close to the real version as he had ever been allowed to see.

He decided to leave the brooding man alone and quietly went back into the house. He was sure that Bruce had seen him and was wilfully continuing to ignore Clark. Besides, he wasn’t quite sure what to say to his teammate anymore. He felt a rush of anger at Bruce, for his pathological need to hide everything. Clark had thought they were finally being honest with each other, but it had just been another one of Bruce’s elaborate deceptions.

However, the anger passed just as quickly as it came on. He had known it was a bad idea to take this step when Bruce was under the influence of the device. The thought made him feel sick to his stomach. Bruce had known he was horny and responded by kissing him. The bracelet made Bruce want to serve Clark, so of course he did. Clark had no idea what to think anymore.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t realize Alfred was standing next to him until he heard a soft, almost apologetic cough.

“Alfred,” He acknowledged. “Sorry, you caught me by surprise.”

“Quite all right, Mr. Kent. I suppose there’s a lot on your mind right now.”

Clark mumbled an agreement. Frankly, he was having difficulty even looking at the butler. He wondered if the gentle old man would be quite so understanding if he knew what had just happened. He knew Bruce was like a son to Alfred. He would be fully justified in being angry with someone who had just taken advantage of him in the worst way.

“You could say that.” he finally said, when it became clear that the other man was not planning to leave him alone.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, you seem disturbed, Mr. Kent.” Alfred was a little too sharp for Clark’s good.

“No, I just…” Clark started but broke off, unsure of how to continue. “I was just surprised by something, that’s all.”

“Regarding Master Wayne?” Alfred poked gently.

“Yes, I think I… misjudged a situation with him. It was a mistake.”

“Master Wayne…” Alfred paused, seeming to choose his words even more carefully than usual. “Master Wayne is an intensely private person. To a fault perhaps. It is… unusually easy to misunderstand his actions.”

“Why does he always feel the need to hide every little… you know what, that’s not fair. This is on me. I knew… never mind.” Clark broke off, unwilling to discuss the particulars with Alfred.

“Hmm. I am afraid I can’t comment without knowing the details. But I do hope you will not… give up on him. As much as I would wish otherwise, Master Wayne is woefully underequipped to deal with... personal issues. I am perhaps partially to blame for that, being the only adult around when he was growing up.”

“No, Bruce adores you,” Clark denied immediately.

“I was about to say likewise,” Alfred said dryly, also glancing through the clear glass at Bruce.

“That’s just the effect of the bracelet. Once that’s sorted out, he can go back to… tolerating me.”

“Hardly true. Master Wayne has considered you a good friend for a long time now.” Alfred sounded sure.

“Thank you, Alfred.” Clark said, wishing wholeheartedly that the butler was right. He checked the time on his phone; it was past six. It was too late to go to the prison today, but he decided first thing tomorrow he was paying Lex a visit. This situation had gone on too long and done too much harm. He was going to fix it, whether Bruce liked it or not.

Bruce came back into the house a couple of hours later. He ignored Clark and took a seat in the living room couch. Clark felt his guilt raise its head again, begging him to just leave and go hide in his room. Well, too bad. They were both stuck together for the time being.

“I am visiting Lex tomorrow morning,” he informed Bruce firmly.

His grim teammate nodded in acknowledgement. “Yes, I’ll ask Alfred to arrange for a car.”

“Okay,” Clark agreed. “Bruce…”

“Yes, of course. Any further questions you’d like to have answered? This is, after all, the perfect time. I could tell you my deepest darkest fears. Or perhaps you would like some further information on my past? The Joker perhaps, I know you have been digging around for details on that.”

“That’s not fair.” Clark felt the anger rise again but tried to quell it, fully aware that Bruce could sense it.

“Of course not,” Bruce sneered. Clark was certain his teammate was trying to pick a fight, but he wasn’t sure to what end. Clark wondered if even Bruce knew.

“I think we need to talk… but not now,” Clark said firmly before Bruce could interject. “I am going to my room. You are welcome to join me…or not.” He left the room quickly.

Clark was in the room for at least two hours before Bruce finally showed up, looking pale and annoyed. He didn’t bother saying anything, and Bruce settled on the other side of the bed, lying down immediately and pretending to go to sleep. Clark resisted the urge to touch him, unsure whether it would be tolerated anymore.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback! Hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Clark glared at Lex across the glass. He seemed surprisingly chipper for someone who was supposed to be paying his debt to society.

“It’s a simple question, Lex,” Clark repeated, resisting the urge to raise his voice. Lex had an incredible ability to get under his skin. He released his death grip on the phone, before it broke apart.

“You’re even less fun than you used to be,” Lex remarked. “I didn’t think that was even possible.”

“Do you have any information on Green Futures Tech?” Clark bit out in a low tone, fantasizing about reaching through the glass and giving the man a good shake.

“Fine, be that way. If you must know, Erica is an old friend. Knew her very well back in the day, if you know what I mean. I assume you are here about the tech you stole from her company.” Lex looked smug at Clark’s surprised jerk. “I had a feeling I would get a visitor soon, although to be honest I was expecting Batman. This seemed more his style.”

Clark grimaced. So much for not telling Lex anything. To be fair, this wasn’t his doing, even Bruce couldn’t pin it on him. Probably.

“What did she tell you?” Clark asked, ready to deal if he had to. Bruce was listening in from outside over a bug he had handed Clark on the way over and Clark knew he would be throwing a fit right about now, but he didn’t care. They could deal with the consequences later. Right now, he just wanted this situation resolved.

“That someone with sticky fingers had stolen a very special bit of jewellery. I don’t see it on you… so I am assuming Bruce Wayne was the one it latched on to. He must be around here then.”

“Well, you seem to be fully informed on the issue,” Clark said, annoyed. “So, why don’t you tell your friend to help us resolve the issue and be done with this.”

“Hmmm….you sound as if you are the one in control here. The way I see it, both you and Bruce are in a very tight spot. I’d be nicer to the only guy who could make your life a lot easier, if I were you. ”

Clark tried to keep his face calm and hoped his frustration wasn’t too obvious. “What do you want, Lex?”

“There, that’s better. I can be reasonable. I am, as you may very well be aware, still in touch with my company. Apparently, having your CEO arrested tends to hurt a company’s reputation quite a bit. They need a bit of good press. An article in the Daily Planet about how they are turning things around in the aftermath of such an unexpected event would help a great deal. Ideally by Lois Lane, but I guess you’ll do in a pinch if you can’t swing that.”

“I thought you had been forced to give up all shares in the company.” Clark pointed out. He had no doubt that Lex had figured out a way around that, but it still stung to know that arresting the other man had at most inconvenienced him slightly.

Lex honest to God winked at him. “Of course I did! This is purely out of the goodness of my own heart. So what do you say? One article and I’ll put in a good word with my friend.”

“Fine, I’ll do it.” Clark ground out through gritted teeth. He just needed this to be over, one way or another. His reputation could take a hit if it needed to. “Just talk to Erica.”

“It was lovely meeting you. I suspect she’ll be contacting you shortly.” Lex smirked and left.

Clark met Bruce outside a few minutes later. “Okay, I get it, you don’t want to deal with Lex but I made a judgement call. I don’t need you yelling at me too.”

“Okay,” Bruce agreed almost immediately, making Clark feel like a heel again.

“I didn’t mean it like that, feel free to tell me exactly how bad of an idea it was if you want to.” Clark braced for the coming onslaught.

“No, I don’t.” Bruce said. “I mean, of course it’s a terrible idea, but we don’t have a lot of options. I know that deal wasn’t easy for you to make. I am sorry you were forced to do that.” His voice was gentle. Even after all these years, Bruce never stopped surprising Clark. It was easy to forget how easily he could read other people.

“Thank you.” Clark felt absurdly grateful for the kind remark. He could feel tears prickling at corner of his eyes and turned away from Bruce. It was hitting him again, just how much he had screwed up, now that the end seemed to be in sight.

The message came to both his and Bruce’s phones exactly sixteen minutes later, with an address in Metropolis waterfront area. They arrived at the docks, having both suited up. He had no idea if Erica was informed of either of their identities already, but at the very least, they made for an imposing picture this way.

Erica Alexandria was waiting for them as soon as they entered the building. She looked like every cliché of the femme fatale ever imagined had been merged into one giant stereotype. She was dressed in black silk dress, draped in artful looking furs and jewellery. She sat on a leather sofa, long legs crossed in front her.

“Superman, Batman! Nice of you to join me here. I would say it’s an honour to meet our greatest heroes but given that the circumstances leading to this meeting—involved trespassing and burglary on your part—that wouldn’t be very true, would it?” She made no move to stand up. Clark glanced around, but didn’t see anyone else in the room with them. There were a total of ten people spread across the building when he took a quick scan, but none seemed to be armed.

“You came alone?” he couldn’t help asking. Clark had expected at least a dozen men with assault weapons to be present.

“There’s no security in the world that could pose a real threat to Superman anyway.” Bruce growled from his side. “She’s counting on her reputation to protect her.”

Alexandria laughed lightly. “Yes, you are a very smart man, aren’t you? Yes, I am confident neither of you want to be caught harassing a poor businesswoman like myself.”

“Just remove the bracelet and we can all forget about this.” Clark suggested, not bothering with posturing. Lex was right that she was in a strong position and she knew it.

“That seems distinctly unfair. You come into my laboratory, destroy and steal my property and you just want me to forget about it?”

“How about some first-hand data on the operation of your device?” Bruce suggested casually, pulling out a small pen drive in his hand. “I suspect even you would have difficulty finding volunteers for such a device. Of course, I suspect you could another unwilling subject but somehow you strike me as someone who doesn’t want to get her hands dirty unnecessarily. I have kept extensive records of my physical parameters, reactions, and brain scans for the last few days, and have recorded them here—redacted appropriately, of course, to protect my identity, but there should be plenty of data and analysis to move your project forward.”

Clark wasn’t surprised; of course Bruce had been collecting every bit of information he could. He didn’t like the idea of making life easier for the corporate shark they were facing, but he supposed it was a deal they would have to live with.

“That’s an interesting offer, Batman. And do I have your word that you will not interfere with my business from now on?”

“You have no such deal.” Clark interrupted firmly before Bruce could respond. “If we find out you are utilizing this device for any illegal activity, we will stop you.”

“That doesn’t seem very fair.” Erica murmured, glancing between the two of them sharply.

“Alternatively, I crash into your lab, collect all evidence and personnel and drop it all off at the nearest law enforcement agency. We already have the locations of at least two of your labs.” Clark hated himself for sounding exactly like the bullies he used to despise. He had power, and he was using it to get his way. It was enough to make his skin crawl.

“I didn’t think Superman could be that... vengeful.” She didn’t seem quite so confident anymore though.

“These have not been a pleasant few days, and I am on my last nerve. Let’s just get this over with and go our own separate ways.” Clark was hanging onto his own temper by a thread.

Alexandria sighed heavily and nodded. “Fine, then. I can’t say this was a pleasure, but I do wish the both of you well. Please proceed to the next room and my employees will help you remove the device. I’ll take that drive, though.” She took the small device from Batman’s outstretched hand and left, entirely too comfortable for the circumstances.

Bruce didn’t bother to meet Clark’s eyes and simply proceeded to the door. Then again, Clark supposed there was nothing further to discuss anyway. When they stepped into the next room, they saw it had been set up into a lab. Two extremely nervous looking men stood around in lab coats. Clark was briefly amused as he noted the safety shoes and gloves worn by both men. Even diabolical villains seemed to appreciate the need for personal protective equipment these days. He wondered if they allowed for unions.

They motioned for Bruce to sit down in the examination chair situated at the left corner of the room. The taller one ran a square gadget the size of a deck of cards over the bracelet, which dutifully unlocked off Bruce’s wrist. Bruce frowned, as if put off at just how easy it seemed.

“How does that work?” Bruce asked casually.

“Oh,” the man seemed surprised to be addressed. He hesitated for a long few moments before responding. “It’s basically just a very powerful magnet… it can disrupt the functioning of the device temporarily.” Bruce looked intrigued despite himself. He examined the bracelet carefully for a few moments, eventually handing it over to the technician, who carefully placed it on a tray.

“Bruce, any difference?” Clark asked doubtfully.

“Yes, I think the effects have been neutralized.” Bruce replied, still watching the bracelet out of the corner of eye. Clark could sympathize, he wouldn’t be surprised if the damn thing jumped up and tried latching on again.

“Hey Bruce. Tell me I am the greatest superhero in the history of the world.” He couldn’t help joking despite the severity of the situation. They had earned a little bit of a chance to relax.

“Fuck off.” Bruce smirked back at him.

“Eh, just making sure.” Clark relaxed for the first time in days. He looked at the bracelet, lying inconspicuously on the shining metal tray. It was difficult to imagine such an innocent looking item had caused so much turmoil in his life in a manner of days. It wasn’t that he couldn’t guess at how bad it could be in the wrong hands, but he was still struck by how much damage it had managed to do even unintentionally.

Bruce walked to his boatmobile as soon as they were out of the building. Clark followed automatically, almost Pavlovian in his reactions now.

But Bruce just nodded at him brusquely just before he got in. “Thank you for your help, Superman. I’ll be going back to Gotham now. I’ll have Alfred send over your things immediately.” He didn’t wait for a response before stepping in. The vehicle took off a few seconds later, leaving Clark standing alone on the side of the road.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback so far! And we are at the end of the story! Hope you enjoyed it

Clark hadn’t heard from Bruce in the last ten days. He had tried calling the other man a couple of times and even left a few messages but they had been summarily ignored. Knowing that Bruce couldn’t avoid him forever, Clark had decided to try being patient. It was not as if he knew how to defend his actions anyway.

Still he had been surprised when he had received the message requesting his presence at the lake house a couple of hours ago while he was at work. He had estimated the freeze out would last at least a couple of weeks, if not more. He had manfully resisted the urge to come over right away, waiting to complete his shift at the Daily Planet. He had some pride…at least that’s what he liked to tell himself.

Alfred greeted him at the door. “Mr. Kent. I do hope that you have been doing well?”

“Not bad, Alfred.”

“He is in the Cave,” Alfred remarked. “I’ll walk you in.”

“I think I should be able to find my way, Alfred. It hasn’t been that long,” Clark joked gently, relieved when the butler nodded slightly and left him alone again.

He made his way to the Cave promptly. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. He could only hope that a sincere apology would be accepted. He didn’t like the thought of losing the other man’s friendship.

Bruce was bent over one of the work tables when he entered, his utility belt laid out in front of him. Clark could made out the little lead-lined chamber with a quick scan. He supposed Batman had been happy to the collect the Kryptonite back from Diana as quickly as possible.

Bruce stiffened as Clark entered the room but turned to greet him with a nod.

“Clark, thank you for coming.”

“Sure, not a problem. Bruce...”

Bruce interrupted him immediately. “Clark, I won’t take up much of your time. I simply wanted to apologize for my behaviour.”

Clark paused in surprise. He had been expecting to get dragged over the coals for inappropriate behaviour. Besides, Bruce seldom used his words for situations like this… preferring to just buy a bank instead. Unless…

“Wait, is the bracelet still affecting you?” he asked, a little concerned now.

Bruce snorted loudly. “I suppose it doesn’t say much for my character that you think I can’t apologize unless under outside influence.”

Clark relaxed; at least the other man seemed to be in a relatively good mood. “You have to admit, it’s not exactly your style. Besides, that was going to be my line anyway.”

Bruce looked genuinely confused for a second, then his face cleared. “You don’t need to apologize for making me tell you how the device was affecting me, Clark. I might have overreacted at the time, but I understood why you did it.”

“No, I didn’t mean—although that was a sucky thing to do as well. But I was apologizing for taking advantage of the situation. I swear Bruce, I had no idea the bracelet was influencing your behaviour to that extent..”

“It wasn’t,” Bruce said slowly, glancing at him speculatively. “I thought I had been clear on that.”

“Bruce, the thing was designed to make you serve me. Of course it would make you want to have sex with me if it knew I wanted it.” Clark resisted the urge to climb under a rock and hide. He had never thought he would be in a position like this. His shame was an ugly thing, coiling around him, almost suffocating him.

“Oh,” Bruce breathed out slowly. “Clark, I swear it didn’t. I simply was able to gauge your interest because of it. All my actions were my own. In fact, I wanted to apologize for my inadvertent spying. I should have been more honest. I just saw an opportunity to take something I had wanted for a long time, without fear of rejection.”

His heartbeat remained perfectly level, and there was no sign of deception in Bruce’s eyes; but then again, the man was a very accomplished liar. Clark wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

Clark finally sighed and sat down on a chair. The other man’s eyes were tracking him like a hawk.

“Even if you believe that, you can’t be sure. Neither of us fully understand how it even works. It might have made to you want to do something, without you realizing.”

“On the contrary, I was extremely aware of every minute change it was creating on my psyche. I can safely say I had never earlier had the urge to wrap you up in the most luxurious gown I could find and feed you peeled grapes. It was extremely disturbing.”

Clark snorted, “Well, let me say thank you for resisting the urge. I might not have survived that with my sanity intact if you had tried that.”

“Clark… “ Bruce hesitated, mouth twisting slightly. “I assure you, the bracelet did not make me do anything I hadn’t wanted to do for a long time before that.”

“You say that, but it still only happened when you were under its influence. We have known each other for years, Bruce. You just expect me to believe the timing was a coincidence?”

“No, not a coincidence. Like I said, I knew… for the first time, I knew that you wanted me too. The fear of rejection is a powerful thing, Clark.” Bruce said quietly, not meeting Clark’s eyes anymore.

Clark couldn’t say he was fully convinced, nonetheless it felt like a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He relaxed slightly, letting the ball of dread in his stomach loosen. He still had serious reservations about how he had acted, but at least… at least it didn’t seem like had done any serious damage to Bruce or to their relationship.

“I did mean to apologize to you when I asked you to come here, you know,” Bruce remarked with a wry smile. “But then you came in here with your massive guilt complex and hijacked the agenda.”

Clark couldn’t help a light snort. “God, Bruce. You have no idea, I thought…”

“I see that now.” Bruce looked down, looking about as apologetic as he ever did.

“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to tell us what’s going on every once in a while. You don’t have to try and hoard every little secret you can find like it’s Kryptonite.” Clark couldn’t the little dig.

“Yeah, I knew you weren’t going to let that one go. Look Clark, I want you to know, I have no intention of ever using it.” Bruce’s mouth was downturned, looking genuinely unhappily.

“I get it, Bruce. Relax. I trust you with it. I trust you with a lot of things.” Clark remarked.

“That doesn’t seem to be a very strategically wise decision.” Bruce sounded self-deprecating again. “You are right that I do feel the need to prevaricate… almost as a principle, by now. I am not sure how capable I am of change anymore.”

“Do you want to? Try to change, I mean.” Clark asked curiously. He hadn’t allowed himself to hope for anything in the last couple of weeks, simply wanting to salvage what he could of their working relationship, but now…

“Would it really matter?” Bruce turned away fully now. “I am not an easy man to get along with. I am extremely aware of the fact.”

“Well, I thought the bracelet make it very clear to you that apparently, I don’t find you… difficult to get along with,” Clark pointed out a bit sharply, his own hurt feelings rising again.

“The bracelet showed me that you would not be averse to having sex with me, and that you seem to have generally positive feelings to me… interspersed with a few brief murderous urges. That’s a far cry from wanting…”

“A relationship?” Clark prompted. What Alfred had suggested that evening in the lake house came back to him. If he wanted something to happen with Bruce, he would need to take the first step. And he realized now that he did want to try.

Bruce inhaled sharply, meeting his eye with a perplexed expression. Clark soldiered on. “I would like to try, Bruce. Tell me, what do you want?”

He was startled a second later when Bruce kissed him again suddenly. Clark smiled and indulged the other man for a long minute or two before breaking it off, but keeping his hands on the other man’s broad shoulders. “Oh, boy. You’ll do anything to avoid a heart-to-heart, won’t you?” he teased lightly.

“I have been told I am better with actions than words.” Bruce responded happily. His mouth widened, not in Bruce Wayne’s hundred watt grin or Batman’s disdainful smirk, but with a small genuine smile. It was enough to steel Clark’s resolve. He had no illusions that this was going to be remotely easy, but he believed it would be worth it.

“Hey, I meant to ask, does Alfred have a few secret cameras hidden around this place? Is he always watching us?”

Bruce glanced at him sceptically, eyebrows drawn together. “Not that I am aware of. Why?”

“Cause he started moving towards us exactly three seconds ago. That is too perfect of timing to be a coincidence.”

“He called it his ‘butler sense’. Always know where to be and at what time.” Bruce replied, but pulled back nonetheless.

“Well, he might have given us a few more minutes.” Clark tried not to pout.

“You know the one place I guarantee Alfred will not enter without knocking is my bedroom.” Bruce smirked, wagging his eyebrows.

“Lead the way,” Clark replied happily.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/kudos really make my day! Let me know if you enjoyed the story or have any suggestions on how it could be better :)


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